Racial Theories Leading to the Third Reich
The Nazi State of the Third Reich is clearly defined by racial theory put into practice. One reading Burleigh and Wipperman's book; The Racial State, learns of these different racial theories and how they are implemented under Adolf Hitler in the Third Reich.
As one learns when reading The Racial State, Adolf Hitler's eugenic and racial-hygienic theories were not original. Theorists long before his time wrote of the same racist theories. Hitler never mentions any of these theorists in his work, but one can see when reading The Racial State, that the horrific acts that occurred during the Third Reich reflected the ideas of these theorists.
Theorist Alfred Grotjahn's believed that in order to achieve social hygiene, those who did not fit the social criteria of the state, should be isolated that in order to achieve social hygiene. Those that did not fit the social criteria of the state should be isolated and sterilized to eventually destroy these races. These people included, the insane, the work shy, alcoholics, those carrying diseases and accident victims. Zoologist Ernst Haekel shares this view with his theory that the 'central races' were superior and in order to maintain their superiority, those who were sick and not perfect within the group needed to be exterminated to maintain this perfection within their race. These were only theories of theirs, mere words on a piece of paper, but one sees this actually come into practice in the Third Reich. Hitler succeeded at having those sterilized who were not to his standards and as described by Grotjahn as "healthy germans". In 1934 the Heredity Disease Progeny Act came into legislation in Germany. As Burleigh and Wipperman...
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...sts alone would not have been able to put these theories into practice without the support of others. I find it hard to imagine that one reading these theories would be able to believe that these allegations were valid and justifiable reasons for the extermination of human beings. I believe it was economical interest that put these theories into action, not actually belief in the theories themselves. The theories served as justification, as an excuse for exterminating innocent people that posed as a threat to Aryan-Germans. It is appalling that something as Barbaric as the treatment of humans during the Third Reich actually took place, and that such obscure theories such as those I have discussed provided the structure for the Nazi State.
Bibliography:
Burleigh and Wipperman "The Racial State, Germany 1933-1945" Cambridge University Press
the other modern element in Nazi policy was their commitment to the ‘science’ of race.”
According to A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust, the Roma (Gypsies) and African-Germans were attacked because of their ethnicity. These two groups fell into the category of being “asocial” and too undesirable. The gypsies had pre-existing prejudices against them before Hitler’s rise which he just expanded on by creating laws against them. They had their civil rights taken away. Many were deported or sent to forced labor camps, and murdered. In 1933, the "Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Defects," was put into effect which gave doctors and physicians the ability to take away the choice and ability for the Roma and others to reproduce. The Romani and Negroes were considered minorities with “alien blood” so they were no longer allowed to marry those of the Aryan race (“Sinti and Roma”). The Gypsies and African-Germans foreign appearance, and customs were viewed as a threat to the “superior” race. They were under extreme scrutiny and judgment by researchers and scientists. They were measured, tested and became part of experiments to p...
Hitler believes that human race can be divided into three categories- founders, maintainers and destroyers of culture. He firmly believes that the Aryan race compose the first category.
The T4 program was not the beginning of Germany’s effort to reach a super race. Leading up to the war Hitler enacted the “Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases” in the year of 1933. The law called for the sterilization of anyone that had any hereditary illnesses. The list of hereditary illnesses included: “schizophrenia, epilepsy, senile disorders, therapy resistant paralysis and syphilitic diseases, retardation, encephalitis, Huntington’s chorea and other neurological conditions.” (History Place) This law was enforced by opening 200 genetic health courts that would analyze the medical records of individuals and decide if they were to be sterilized or not. The sterilization of people usually involved the use of drugs, x-rays, or uterine irritants. Dr. Horst Schumann did a lot of these experiments with sterilization at Auschwitz, where he would take a group of men/women and would expose them to x-rays. Most of his experiments with x-rays were disappointing but he kept using this method. After he subjected his subjects to x...
"Victims of the Nazi Era: Nazi Racial Ideology." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Eric Hoffer's True Believer outlines a model that mass movements follow or need to follow in order to succeed. The Nazi Political Movement in Germany is explained well through the use of this framework. The Nazi party rose to power because of the setting of Germany at the time and the people involved in the movement. It is especially interesting to look at how the methods and tactics the leaders used changed throughout the course of the Nazi rule. The difference is especially apparent in how the treatment of homosexuals by Nazis changed over time. These behaviors and laws can be sorted into four main phases of the Nazi rule: coming to power, cracking down, mass killings, and fall of the empire.
To begin with, Racism had a big effect in the genocide and murders in Germany. According A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, it states that “ It was the explicit aim of Hitler's regime to create a European world both dominated and populated by the "Aryan" race. Some people were undesirable by Nazi standards because of who they were,their genetic or cultural origins, or health conditions.” (“ Victims” ). It is so devastating that someone could kill or torture anyone who was not like them or who fought against them. The Jews were required to carry their identification cards. They were also excluded from businesses, parks, resorts, and forests. German children were taught that the Jews and Gypsies were not as good as the Germans. One of the methods used to teach German children was to make the Jewish children stand up and point out their distinguishing features. Later on the Jewish children were banned from schools and had curfews. John Boyne Quotes from his book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas “What exactly was the difference? he wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?” In his speeches and writings Hitler spread his believes in racial “purity” and in the superiority of their Germanic race. What he called an “Aryan master race”. These believes became the governments ideology and were spread in publicly displayed posters on the radios,m...
In 1942, the Nazis began one of the most terrifying and gruesome campaigns in the history of the world. Hitler and his Security Service (SS) tried to eliminate all “inferior” races compared to the race that was originally from Germany that were called Germanic tribes and the key physical features that they were made up of was tall, strong, blonde hair, and blue eyes. The Germanic tribes were known for be ruthless and evil. The race he had a particular focus on eliminating was the Jews but he also targeted other races and/or people groups (The Holocaust in France, The Vel'd'Hiv Roundup).
Given the large sphere of influence the Nazi society has had on the present world, studying the outcomes of such restrictive policies leads us to a straight forward question of just how effective they were.
One of the most destructive and arrogant persons in history was Adolf Hitler. The destruction that he and his regime brought on humanity has seldom seen its equal. In reality the Holocaust was a terrible horror, but in Hitler’s mind it was merely a brushstroke in the masterpiece that he believed he was creating. Hitler believed that the Aryan race was superior to all others and that it was only natural, and not cruel, that the higher would show no humanity toward the lower (296). This prejudiced belief predominated Hitler’s thinking. In his essay, On Nation and Race, his assumption that Aryans are superior to all others creates a type of logical fallacy called “Begging the Question” (Rottenberg 291).
An explanation of the Nazi’s rise to power would be inadequate without some attention given to the origins of Hitler, the Nazi party and the world views which would eventually shape the foundatio...
The Nazi’s perpetrated many horrors during the Holocaust. They enacted many cruel laws. They brainwashed millions into foolishly following them and believing their every word using deceitful propaganda tactics. They forced many to suffer doing embarrassing jobs and to live in crowded ghettos. They created mobile killing squads to exterminate their enemies. Finally, as part of “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question”, they made concentration and killing camps. Another thing the Nazi’s did was to use eugenics as another mean to micromanage the population. What is eugenics, you might ask? It’s the field of scientific study or the belief in genetically improving qualities, attributes and traits in the human race and/or improving the species as a whole—usually done by controlled/selective breeding. Those with positive, desirable, and superior traits are encouraged to reproduce and may be given monetary incentives by the government to have large families. Those with negative, undesirable, or inferior traits may be discouraged from having offspring. They may be sterilized, or undergo dangerous medical procedures or operations with high mortality rates. I chose this topic because it appealed to me and seemed interesting. In the following paragraphs, the tactics, methods, and propaganda the Nazi’s used will be exposed.
The treatment of Jews and other minority groups by the Nazi’s can be described as actions that could only be done by a totalitarian state. Hitler believed in eugenics, the idea of improving a race by selective breeding. Nazi ideology of the Jewish race was severe anti-Semitism and pure hatred. The Nazi policy towards the Jews has been said to be the most brutal and horrific example of anti-Semitism in history.
The obsession with Nazis comes the idea that they represent the idea that humans are susceptible to a certain psychology whether it be group think or an in-group/outgroup bias. I partially agree with Evans however I do not believe that “Third Reich represents racism in its most extreme form”. Unlike other marginalized groups the Jewish community has exceptionally thrived because they will not let others forget and maintained a strong foothold and make their history a necessity to know and understand. Evans makes a valid point on the timing of when the Nazis came to power. In the past when I thought of mass murder I thought of medieval times on a less” enlightened” society. He brings up the sophistication and cultured aspect of Europe and how
Eugenics, the belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, is one that is still used to this day. The issue with this belief, as with many other beliefs, is that it is very flawed for more reasons than one. One of the issues that can be found with the eugenics theory can be found through its data. The other issues can be categorized in either interpretation or in the overall outcome of eugenics. Although this belief began long before Hitler, possibly in the Victorian age, it became very popular during his time in power. During this time the seemingly perfect person had blue eyes, blond hair, and was white, all others were deemed unfit for the Nordic race and were likely killed as a result of it. The eugenics movement began with great observation of family trees from many families. Ant families that had diseases of defects of any type were shunned and taken away so that there would be no more generations to come.